Monday, December 17, 2007

WHY RAHUL DRAVID?

The recent form of Yuvraj Singh has compelled the selectors to include the left-hander in the test squad on the tour of Australia. With Sachin, Saurav, Laxman, Dravid and Jaffer being certainties, a spot for Yuvraj calls for a bold choice or a gamble. Many wise people have voiced the view that Yuvraj can be accommodated in the middle order only if Dravid is asked to give company to Jaffer at the start of the innings. Even the great Sunil Gavaskar has endorsed this view.

The idea that Dravid should open stems from the fact that the Karnataka batsman is the most competent when it comes to facing fast bowling on bouncy pitches. More importantly, Dravid opened the innings once before in Pakistan. So that makes Dravid a sort of a ‘natural choice’ for the role of the opener.

If Dravid is indeed compelled by the team management to open the innings, things could take a turn for the worst for the Indian team. If one cares to remember the last tour to down under, it was Dravid who was a crucial factor behind the team’s good show batting at one drop. With his confidence low, not only the team but also the batting of Dravid could suffer.

Why Dravid? The answer is pretty simple and straightforward. Dravid does not have many powerful backers among the former players and the media. In fact, Dravid is someone who can be dispensed with ostensibly in the name of larger interests.

The success or the failure of the team in the batting department depends mostly on the performance of Dravid.

No comments: